Chapter 9

Second place in the weekly rankings...!! Over 1000 bookmarks...!! I nearly popped my eyes out this morning. Everyone, thank you so much!!

"Welcome back. ...What's wrong? You look exhausted?"

"Don't worry about it..."

After eating a cup of noodles and diving back in, Raging was still browsing for equipment at the weapon shop. From his words, it seemed that the emotional expression engine built into the VR device was reflecting his current feelings in his facial expression. ...Current feelings? Despair.

"To clear my current mood, I want to conduct a verification. I can't trip without verification."

"Verification? Isn't that some kind of dangerous drug or something? I don't understand what you're saying."

"Think of it like an analysis, and you'll probably get it."

"Oh... it's legal! (smile)"

As we had this rather strange conversation, the other players around us started to give us looks as if they had just witnessed something bizarre. Do you guys want to do a verification too?

"Before that, I want to buy some more arrows. Are they sold at a general store?"

"Yeah, they're technically sold at the consumables shop, but that's inconvenient... It would be better if we could buy them at the weapon shop. Just wait a moment."

Indeed, going all the way to the consumables shop is a hassle. It would be more convenient to buy them at the weapon shop, reducing the need for extra movement.

"What are you doing? Calling the GM?"

"No, no, I'm not doing anything like that. Just watch."

Raging went to the weapon shop owner and said,

"Hey, shop owner. My partner just bought a bow, right? How about stocking arrows here too? It would boost sales and make it easier for archers, a win-win situation, don't you think?"

"Hmm? Well, you have a point... The guild might complain if there's too much competition... But I guess arrows are fine. I'll put in an order, so please continue to support our shop."

After this conversation, Raging came back to me.

"See?"

"What is that, high technology?"

Impressive. This is beyond the realm of AI. I see, the NPCs in this world are more like humans. The players who are good at role-playing must be strong in this game.

"Anyway, even if they say they'll stock them, it won't happen immediately, so let's go to the consumables shop for now."

"This game is surprisingly realistic in strange ways..."

Indeed, it's a game where shop prices change in real-time. That makes sense.

In front of the consumables shop, which is essentially a street vendor, I was in shock.

"One wooden arrow for 50 maney...!?"

Deja vu. That's strange, the stone arrows I used cost 100 maney each...?

How can I be in the red after taking down three goblins with one arrow? Am I supposed to go to a better hunting ground? Unfortunately, I can't progress because I can't level up...

"Archers really have it tough... What do you want to do? Go to Secundaria?"

"You're subtly suggesting a job change, aren't you?"

Well, I am wavering... I've already taken the "Rebound" skill, so I can't back out now...

"Does this game not have drop items? Is it an MMORPG feature that monsters don't drop any items?"

"Huh? One item per monster, right? What are you talking about?"

"Huh?"

No, no, that can't be. They weren't shown on the result screen. After a while, Raging tilted his head and suddenly said, "Ah, maybe the drop items are set to be hidden?"

"What? What's that annoying setting?"

I don't remember touching that setting. Is there even a demand for it?

"No, some users during the beta said it was more interesting to get materials like a gacha, so the game system was set up to not show drop items until you check them after defeating a monster. I carried over all the settings from the beta, so I fixed that."

"That's the most annoying thing ever?"

Besides, isn't the drop system already like a gacha...?

While grumbling, I turned off the setting and switched to showing drop items. Then I opened the menu and checked my inventory.

――――――――――――――――――

【Goblin Hand Axe】 - 8

A hand axe carried by goblins. The axe itself is of poor quality and not very practical.

【Goblin Loincloth】 - 10

A loincloth worn by goblins. It has a strong odor, so handle with care.

【Goblin Horn】 - 2

A horn that grows on a goblin's forehead. It is hard and pointed.

【Slime Slime】 - 58

Slime from a slime. It is highly adhesive and can dissolve objects if left in it for a long time.

【Slime Core】 - 1

The source of a slime's life energy. It can store magic, making it useful in various fields.

【Red Boar Meat】 - 6

Meat from a red boar. The taste is mediocre, but it is in high demand.

【Red Boar Fur】 - 2

Thick fur covering a red boar. It has excellent insulation properties.

――――――――――――――――――

"Ha? This is like a gacha, and it's the best?"

"Are you okay? Your palm isn't spinning so much that it's twisting off, is it?"

The sudden appearance of drop items made me want to burst into laughter. It's like I had been saving a little bit of money consistently but had forgotten about it, and when I realized it, I had a fortune. Not that I'm short on money, though.

"What do you do when you want to sell these, Raging?"

"You can use the window operation, but you might get a better price if you bring out the materials and negotiate directly. If you're confident in your negotiation skills, I recommend the direct approach."

"Okay."

Hehehe, I'll show you my interrogation skills from Aims' "Terror Hunt" mode, where I used to interrogate opponents to get their positions...

"Hey, old man? I want to sell some drop items. Can I talk to you for a moment?"

"Thank you. What do you have?"

First, I need to bring out the materials.

Well, the goblin loincloth is a bit dangerous, so I'll materialize the others.

Thud thud thud thud thud squish squish squish squish squish squish squish squish squish squish squish squish squish squish squish squish squish squish squish squish...

"Wh-what, customer!?"

"Villager, hold on a moment."

"Huh?"

Raging stopped me as I was materializing everything at once.

"First of all, why do you have so many materials? And why are you putting slime on the ground!? The goblin materials are covered in slime!?"

"Oh, that's true. Old man, do you have any pots or something?"

"I wish you had said that earlier..."

The NPC vendor, with a strained face, pulled out a pot from the side and pointed to it.

"Please put the slime in this pot."

"Sorry, I'll collect the slime on the ground."

When I touched the highly adhesive slime on the ground, it automatically went into my inventory. Pretty convenient. The goblin items being slimy is their own fault.

As I brought out the other drop items, the merchant's eyebrows twitched slightly when he saw one of them.

I didn't miss this and smiled.

"【Slime Core】... This is probably valuable, right? ...What's the going rate?"

I had only gotten one despite killing so many slimes, so it must be a rare drop.

The NPC vendor, hearing my words, didn't flinch.

"3000 maney."

"6000 maney."

Let's start the negotiation.

"Wait, wait, if I buy it for that much, I'll go out of business. 4000 maney."

"Well, it's valuable, and it's hard to come by. If you miss this opportunity, you might not get another one. 5500 maney."

"I can't buy it for that much. Try another vendor."

"Alright, then I won't use your shop again."

I learned that the player's emotions can affect NPCs in this game.

The NPC vendor, seeing my sad expression, panicked and stopped me.

"Alright, I'll buy the slime core and the other materials for 8500 maney."

Huh? Even without the slime core, the other materials are worth that much?

"Considering the other materials... 11000 maney."

"Impossible, I can't buy it for that much. The highest I can go is 10000 maney."

Hmm, 10000 maney. That's a good price for early game drop items.

"Alright, 10000 maney."

"Understood."

Seeing the 10000 maney added to my inventory, I nodded in satisfaction. Alright, now let's buy some arrows for verification and get started.

I bought 50 wooden arrows and 25 stone arrows through the menu and turned to Raging.

"Raging, did you buy what you needed? I want to start the verification, so let's go."

"Ah...! Yeah...! Sure...!"

Huh? Why is he trembling and trying to hold back laughter?

◇

"Hey, villager."

"What is it, Raging?"

We were walking back to the Felio Tree Sea from the consumables shop when Raging suddenly tapped my shoulder.

"Hey, the current market price for a slime core is 10000 maney."

"Wh-what, that old man...!?"

Hey!? No way, a vendor marking up the price by 30%? No way that's allowed! But it actually happened!

"Wow, you really did a great job, villager? Trading the slime core for free and everything?"

"Stop it, Raging, that's affecting me...!!"

While Raging is annoying, I need to figure out what to do about that vendor NPC.

"Is there a job that can legally take down an NPC? Or at least harass them?"

"What kind of apocalyptic game is that..."

Raging sighed and shrugged. Well, if there isn't one, I'll seriously avoid that vendor's shop and spread bad reviews. Let's do some business sabotage!

"How about throwing pebbles from outside the town to harass them?"

"Isn't that a bit too novel a form of harassment?"

Well, it can't be traced, right? Rebound is the solution to everything.

"Players who perform untraceable harassment. Ha, you know your karma value might go up?"

"What's that?"

"A hidden stat that accumulates when you do bad things. If your karma value gets too high, NPCs will have a lower opinion of you, or in the worst case, you might become a wanted criminal."

"Throwing pebbles and becoming a wanted criminal? What a harsh world..."

So, I'd be "Villager A, the Pebble Thrower." Probably a low bounty, maybe 100 maney.

"Also, if you get PKed, the other player won't suffer any penalties, so it's better not to raise your karma value too much."

"Heh, karma... This game is thorough."

---

At that time, I didn't realize that because I had been hunting slimes in the starting plains, the anti-slaughter punishment mobs had spawned, and many players had been affected, causing their karma values to approach a certain threshold.

I would learn about this a few days later.

Aims "Terror Hunt"

A game mode where players are divided into a special forces team and a terrorist team. The special forces must rescue hostages or eliminate the enemy team, while the terrorists must protect the hostages or wait for the time limit to expire. Terrorists can set various traps and sentry guns, while the special forces can respawn after 30 seconds and repeatedly assault the terrorist-held building within the time limit. Despite the powerful traps, the special forces don't always have the advantage.

For example, when playing as the special forces, I would stealthily approach from blind spots, capture a terrorist, and use a knife to the throat to force them to reveal their teammates' positions before killing them. (That's like Cabel...)

When playing as a terrorist, I would use an anti-material rifle to engage in direct combat, and after eliminating the enemy, I would use Rebound to reskill until the time limit.